After West Point, De Russy worked as the assistant engineer for New York State's defenses and helped to build Fort Montgomery, Rouses Point on the Canada–US border. In the late 1810s, he became the Superintending Engineer of the defenses of New York Harbor. He was next assigned to the South, where he oversaw construction of forts along the Gulf of Mexico, serving from 1821 to 1825. In 1825, De Russy returned to New York City, where he continued to build the Harbor's defenses, specifically Fort Hamilton. The Brooklyn Eagle reported that De Russy was the "engineer under whose direction Fort Hamilton was built, the corner stone of which was laid on June 11, 1825, and which was first garrisoned by troops on November 1, 1831." During his assignment in New York City, De Russy supervised the construction of the New Utrecht Reformed Church. He built his own residence on a hill in Brooklyn, which the Brooklyn Eagle referred to as "The Lookout" because of its position above New York harbor, on a ridge that became known as Dyker Heights at the end of the 19th century. On July 1, 1833, De Russy was assigned as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, which he led for five years. He was next assigned to supervising fort construction in Virginia and Delaware. Because of this experience, De Russy served as a member of the Atlantic Coast Defense Board from 1849 until 1854, when he was sent to San Francisco. He continued to build military forts and was named to the Pacific Coast Defense Board. In 1857, he was reassigned to the Atlantic Coast, returning to San Francisco in 1861. He died in San Francisco in 1865. De Russy was credited with inventing the barbette depressing gun carriage. In recognition of his service, on July 17, 1866, De Russy was posthumously nominated by President Andrew Johnson for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general in the Regular US Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate approved the appointment on July 26, 1866.
Personal life
De Russy was married to Harriet Elizabeth Taylor. Together, they were the parents of the following:
Sara Wetmore De Russy, who married Arthur Murray ; a career officer, he became a major general. They had a double wedding with her older sister Helen. Their son Maxwell Murray also had a military career, becoming a major general. He commanded the 25th Infantry Division in Honolulu during the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
There are five Forts DeRussy in the United States: Fort DeRussy Military Reservation in Honolulu, two in Louisiana, one in Kentucky, and one in Washington, D.C. The latter four were all built during the American Civil War. All of the forts were named for two brothers, René Edward and his younger brother Louis Gustave De Russy. Louis graduated in 1814 from the United States Military Academy, two years after René but on an accelerated schedule. An engineer and career officer, he was assigned to Red River outposts in Louisiana in 1826 and made much of his career in that state. At advanced ages, they served on opposite sides of the Civil War: René on the Union side and Lewis as a colonel in the Confederate Army; he was the oldest West Point graduate to serve on the Confederate side.
DeRussy Drive on Dyker Heights was named for Rene E. DeRussy,, who built a house there while stationed in New York.
